DEAR FRIEND:

It is always a pleasure to hear from a fellow Sun Center student, which I take it for granted you are—and especially from a Mother who is truly concerned about her child’s spiritual welfare.

The writings to which you refer were a series of lectures in story form written for leaders in Junior Lodges to read to children of ages ranging from five to nine. Though these lectures dealt with metaphysical principles, they had to be veiled and sugar-coated sufficiently to avoid offending the orthodox and worldly-minded parents of these children. They are, therefore, in my opinion, not nearly as suitable for children whose parents are earnest Truth students, as other methods which I have found far superior in my work with children. My interest in the past has been in helping to supply a need for material for the child rather than for the parent—as such organizations as the Sun Center so efficiently and thoroughly instruct the parent in Truth that an earnest application of these principles soon inspires the parent from Within with just the right methods of dealing with his or her family.

From your letter it seems that your main difficulty, in common with most parents, is your own reactions to the child. Now my advice to you in this respect is to enroll in the Sun Center’s “WAY OUT Correspondence Course”—if you have not already done so.

The benefits which my children have received from my great change of attitude toward them, from but six months of concentrated work upon this Course, cannot be measured—although I had also been receiving the Advanced Course for a considerable time, and at first felt that I didn’t need this ‘groundwork’! The mere fact that we still have problems and unwanted conditions in our lives is positive PROOF that we DO need this thorough foundation course. A week or two of sincere attempt at answering the questions and applying the principles will be sufficient to show most of us how great is our need.

This Course has done more for me and my family in six months than all of the countless complex books upon child psychology, child training, and lengthy and expensive courses of child culture through which I waded my bewildered way for many years previously. They but confused and complicated, while “THE WAY OUT” clears up and simplifies. Children are so much more influenced by what we ARE than by what we say, or even do. In case you are already enrolled in this Correspondence Course I will gladly tell you how I apply it to my work with my children if you are interested.

Have you ever tried “Speaking the Word” for your boy? Or haven’t you come to that part of the work as yet? Do you faithfully keep the Noonday Silence period, as requested in the front and back covers of THE INNER LIFE Magazine, and allow your child to know what you are doing? My girl’s interest and curiosity was aroused before she was four years old by my repeated observance—she requested permission to join me, and is really doing quite well with it. Yesterday and today she asked to send forth her Love to your little boy and to you, when I told her about the nice little boy and his Mother in Rochester. She says your boy is surrounded by a beautiful blue “Light.” If you are interested, I will gladly tell you just how we go about it. My little girl loves it, and I imagine your boy will, too.

For helping the child himself to understand “Who we are, and of What we are a Part,” and “Why we are here?” the best method I have found is through the use of stories. These firmly secure the child’s interest, capture his imagination, and enable the parent to instill Divine Principles in him while his mind is still unsullied by false beliefs and attitudes. It is very easy to find out his understanding of such principles by questions upon the story, which of course can be dwelt upon, discussed, and amplified as one proceeds. I usually read but a small portion at a time so as not to confuse the child-mind by too many new ideas at a time.

One morning, while on that portion of “The Love Fairy’s Magic Fingers,” which I wrote especially for my little girl (and which was just published in the April INNER LIFE of the Sun Center), in which the “Fingers” creations were at first just clouds hovering about them, I stopped and said, “Colombe, everything you think forms a ‘cloud,’ only you can’t see it as yet.” Her answer amazed me. “Oh, yes I can!” she asserted, and went on to prove it.* I believe her, too—and she’s only 4½. This is just one example of how little we know of our child until we “become acquainted” by some such method. You can secure three other lovely fairy-tales from the Sun Center at a very small cost (about 27c each) and your child will be certain to benefit by them. If you are interested and would like to know various ways of dramatizing any of these stories for your boy’s benefit I will gladly give you my methods.

There are many little devices which I use to help my little girl feel “at one” with all life, such as “making plants, goldfish, canary, cats, etc. talk,” and then commenting upon the conversation; showing the unreality of appearances by means of mirrors, shadow games, etc.; any of which ideas I will tell you in detail at your request.

If you care to tell me how much you have had of the Sun Center work, and more about your boy—whether he is an imaginative or skeptical type, whether he clings to or is somewhat indifferent to you as a confidant and pal, whether he attempts to mimic you and your actions, etc., and any other outstanding traits or examples of your relations together, it would be much easier to suggest ways and means of interesting and helping him. Also if you have any special problems concerning his behavior, or concerning your mutual reactions, I would be pleased to make any suggestions from my own past experience which might be of help to you.

Now, dear friend, don’t hesitate to write me at any time for any information which you may desire, and I’ll help you in every way I know. This gives me an opportunity to pass on the rich blessings which other channels have made possible for me, and I therefore consider it a real joy and privilege.

*[The proof not having been given in the above, we wrote to Mrs. Snyder asking if possible to give it in the child’s own words, and received the following:

“I saw naughty thought clouds coming from Mr. —— (a neighbor who had become incensed in Colombe’s presence at something done by his young child). They were b-a-d looking,” slightly shuddering, and opening wide her eyes with a sort of shocked remembrance.

“What color were the clouds?” “Black,” she replied.

“What color are good thoughts?” “Oh, they are pretty! Some are blue, and green, and pink.” (She knows but few colors by name.)

“Where do the good thoughts come from?”

With a real struggle to find words to fit her knowledge, she replied, “They come out of the ‘dirt,’ like plants, and grow like when you plant a seed. (This was original with her, as I had not given her such an explanation as yet!)

I already knew that she was very receptive to thoughts as she has so often practically read my mind that I took that part for granted. We often play “think games” wherein she tells me the objects I concentrate upon. So that the idea of her receiving thoughts was in no way unusual. What did surprise me was her claim of “seeing” them, rather than just receiving them as impressions, as I had previously taken for granted. Whether she “sees” them just occasionally or habitually I have still to determine, whenever I catch her in the right mood—uninfluenced by any thoughts or words of my own.]